


What He Didn't Know

by VanillaChip101



Series: FebuWhump Prompts 2021 [10]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ahsoka Tano Gets a Hug, Ahsoka Tano Needs a Hug, Ahsoka Tano is a Sibling to the Clones, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anakin Skywalker Needs a Hug, Anakin Skywalker is Trying, CT-7567 | Rex & Ahsoka Tano Friendship, CT-7567 | Rex Needs a Hug, CT-7567 | Rex is a Good Bro, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Flashbacks, Gen, Human Disaster Anakin Skywalker, Hurt Ahsoka Tano, Hurt CT-7567 | Rex, Hurt/Comfort, Mentioned Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mentioned Padmé Amidala, Protective Ahsoka Tano, Protective Anakin Skywalker, Protective CT-7567 | Rex, all of this is emotional and not physical
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:41:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29324145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VanillaChip101/pseuds/VanillaChip101
Summary: Day 10 prompt: "I'm sorry, I didn't know."Ahsoka, Rex, and Anakin are invited to a senatorial ball and each of their night is different, mostly going negatively for two out of the three.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, CT-7567 | Rex & Ahsoka Tano, CT-7567 | Rex & Anakin Skywalker, CT-7567 | Rex & Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Series: FebuWhump Prompts 2021 [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2137947
Comments: 2
Kudos: 72
Collections: febuwhump 2021





	What He Didn't Know

**Author's Note:**

> Inspiration from tumblr post because that idea was great af: https://bit.ly/3rAa6ZP (by bitsandbobsofwriting's outline!)  
> Warnings: attempted sexual harassment, degrading comments, etc

"Snips! Rex! Are you both done yet?"

He heard a groan and a small sigh as the duo came out of their respective rooms; Rex was still adjusting his tie, obviously uncomfortable without his armor and Ahsoka was holding onto the wall, trying to adjust the heels that she was given.

Anakin had gone to the chancellor's office as he did once a week, and he was surprised to see that he was invited to a senatorial ball in celebration of the new planets they have retained for the Republic.

_Flashback_

_"I insist, Anakin, take the ticket! Enjoy yourself! You deserve it after everything you have done."_

_Anakin wanted to take it, he really did, but it wasn't only him that help earned the victory._

_"Chancellor, I appreciate the offer, but it wasn't only my efforts that helped; my padawan and captain included were probably the ones who did more than me. May I please invite the two of them along with me?"_

_Palpatine internally frowned at the flaw of his would-be-perfect plan but he sweetly grinned and nodded. If he wanted to have the Chosen One as his apprentice, he would have to be patient and sacrifice some of his efforts. He didn't want the togruta to be there; the annoying brat may just foil his scheme even more than she already had, but alas, it had to be done._

_Skywalker smiled, laughing at the three tickets that were now in his hands. He bowed low to the chancellor._

_"Thank you! I'll see you at the party!"_

_The door closed, and Palpatine dropped his facade, scowling at the paperwork in front of him._

_"Yes, I shall."_

_End flashback_

"Master, do we both have to go? I don't think anyone of us wants to," Ahsoka said, trying her best to convince her master to let her and Rex stay in the Resolute, disgustedly looking at a rather large pearl necklace hanging around her neck, replacing her golden diamond one she had gotten from her life-day. Rex silently agreed with his commander, standing stiffly at her side and trying his best not to just rip off the whole suit he was given and run back into his blacks.

"I promise it will be fun! C'mon, this will only happen about once in our lives! Please?"

Ahsoka closed her eyes and released a slow breath, and nodded. she exchanged a quick glance with the captain and he tilted his head in affirmation. Wherever she went, he would follow, and he knew the opposite would be done for him.

~

"And then I said to him _well, I don't think this went according to plan now, did it?_ "

The senators that have bundled after the Hero With No Fear all roared in laughter at his antics, claps spreading throughout the audience. Ahsoka and Rex were dragged along with Anakin since they hadn't known many people (not like they wanted to anyway). Ahsoka couldn't find her friends like Riyo or Lux, and Rex had no clone troopers to talk to, his only friend being Ahsoka and Anakin. They were squeezed between two senators, each of them asking different questions about the war. Instead of drifting off and mingling as the general had insisted, the duo stuck together, watching each other's back even in a simple ball, just for the sake of each other. Ahsoka's hands itched to hold her lightsaber in comfort and Rex wished that he brought both of his blasters, but he had left it at the lodging the trio reserved, at Anakin's insistence to _relax_. The party went on for the rest of the night, the five-oh-first heroes talking to other people and discovering more about what the civilians of the Republic were like.

~

The trio walked down the hall, with Anakin's chatter of his recallings filling in the silence. The keys jingled in Anakin's hand as he whistled a light tune, unlocking the door and letting the two others step in front of him. Ahsoka rubbed the necklace in her hand, having immediately taken it off when the ball ended. As they went inside, they all moved into the living space, Anakin sitting on the spare chair with Rex and Ahsoka sitting side by side on the sofa, her head on Rex's shoulder using it as a pillow.

Her's lids were droopy, her mouth set in a slight frown as she recalled the events of the ball. Rex laid back on the couch, rubbing his face, feeling drained.

Anakin, was the total opposite, still continuing his jabber, hand motions accompanying his explanation with enthusiasm.

"I didn't think they would actually like me, y'know? Like some of them said that I seemed really closed off from the holonet pictures, but when I talked to them, they actually liked me! I haven't felt this relaxed si-" _Since last month's stay with Padmé but he wasn't gonna say that._

"Did you guys like it? I hadn't seen you much towards the middle and the end. Did the people also ask for you to tell stories? Yeah, right? See? It was a good experience!" Anakin rattled on, giving not much room for the duo to speak.

"Actually, it went exactly how I thought it would," Rex muttered, his stare shifting from the ceiling to the floor, his mind seemingly far away. Ahsoka lifted her head to look at Anakin, then moved her head, gazing out the window at the pale moonlight shining towards the bright lights of the street below.

"You should have let us stay here, Master Skywalker."

Anakin's eyebrows raised in confusion and a slight frown overtook his face. Ahsoka had _never_ called him Master skywalker except in her earlier nervous padawan days. She usually called him Anakin, Skyguy, master, _loser_ , all of that sort...but never the whole formal title of 'Master Skywalker.' Even when they were standing in front of the Jedi council, she still used the term master by itself. He and she had a bond that grew over time into a special brother and sister relationship that led them far from the usual Jedi formalities.

His face then fell from the tight shields he felt from the two people sitting in front of him, his eyebrows then furrowing in slight annoyance. It was supposed to be a night for the three of them, a time to celebrate, to laugh, to _enjoy_ their victories. They were _never_ invited to _extravagant parties_ , they didn't get to _dress up_ and be _actual humans_ instead of the _soldiers_ they were now. He himself had tried his best to earn them passes, and this is all he got in return? Instead of being grateful, they were closed off, and for no reason in particular!

(It was so much more complicated than that)

He sighed irritably, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning forward towards the duo.

"Snips, Rex. What was so terrible about it? I want to- _no_ , I'm _dying_ to know," Anakin asked, heavy sarcasm implied in his last sentence.

Rex glanced at Ahsoka's face, who was still turned away from both of them, her hand idly picking at the ends of her dress, her eyes glancing at Rex from the corner of her eye. He had stuck by her since the beginning, and he still sticks by her now, using his best efforts to protect her during the ball. But no matter how hard he tried, he was just a _clone_ , someone that was said to be less than a person, a _flesh droid_ , someone who didn't have the right to an opinion. She was his best friend and he was hers, and he could read her like an open book, the time spent with her already categorizing her different reactions, both big and small. She didn't turn her head, and with that, he knew that she wasn't in the mood to give a snippy response to her master, annoyance slightly showing on her face. During the night, he had tried and failed, to protect her and himself from the negativity, but it had been close to impossible because of his status. But now? When she was closed off to her master, the only person she could rely on was him. And this time, he could actually defend her, with nobody there to judge him for it.

He sighed and he opened his mouth, words tumbling out before he could latch them back in. They were waiting on the tip of his tongue, a rant waiting to explode. He told Anakin what was bad about his night, about how _no one_ gave him or the soldiers of the Republic any respect, degrading the clones right in front of him, knowing that he could hear every word they said. He heard people toss around the phrase ' _just a clone_ ' so many times, and he had tried keeping count but just the frequent use of it made him give up, the three words repeating over and over again until it was stuck into his head.

Anakin opened his mouth to interrupt, but seeing at how much Rex was emotional right now, rarely spilling all of his distress on the forefront until the present hour, made him stop, resigned to just _listen_ for his captain, giving quiet encouragement to continue.

_Flashback_

_"How were you even born? Were you programmed, like a droid and just given human flesh?"_

_"Do you even feel pain? People say that you clones are emotionless, so does that apply too?"_

_He had answered each question through fake smiles and tense shoulders, trying to remain calm, but each time he was disrespected, his patience ran low, only for it to stay steady as Ahsoka appeared beside him, a calming hand resting on his shoulder after he was finished talking, showing that she **understood** how he felt. She would pull him away after he was done talking to a senator, leading him away to cool down, although she was already seething for reasons of her own, and for that, he was grateful that they both kept calm for each other's expense. Ahsoka had been with him when a senator who didn't even try to hide his disrespect, referring to him and his brothers as 'cannon fodder.' He had subtly held her back before she could snarl and punch him in the face, appreciating her efforts at defending the vode, but knowing that it wasn't the time to start a full brawl, or in that case, show the crowd how weak the senator would be against the togruta._

_End flashback_

"I couldn't defend myself even if I tried, so I didn't say argue," the captain vocalized frustratedly, the words ' _good soldiers follow orders_ ' running through his head.

"They saw me and the vode below them, so my opinion wouldn't matter anyway. If I had fought back, if I had said something to retaliate, that would just confirm the senators' negative opinions about us, causing me to be the reason the next brother is verbally abused even worse than I was today," he gulped down a harsh breath, his gaze still trained on the ground. Ahsoka's gaze had turned away from the window the moment the captain had started talking, and she placed her hand on his shoulder in comfort, exactly as she did in the party.

Anakin knew that Rex wasn't used to physical contact, usually stiffening slightly if he touched his shoulder in congratulations, but seeing how he actually _leaned_ into Ahsoka's hand, relaxing under her grip, made him realized that he might actually need the solace. Rex needed someone to be there for him, and Ahsoka knew that exactly, giving it.

Rex continued on with his reflection, Ahsoka's calming presence helping him through it.

_Flashback_

_"Why is that clone even here? He only followed Skywalker's decisions like he was meant to do," a senator chuckled, sipping his wine._

_"I don't think he actually helped in the victory; just a challenge for the Jedi to keep it alive and defeat the Separatists; might as well help the Jedi train all the time."_

_"He's probably just there to execute the vision of a higher lifeform."_

_End flashback_

Ahsoka's teeth clenched and her grip tightened on his shoulder, bringing him back to reality.

"What? That's so stupid! You guys are usually the ones who save my ass almost every day, even more than I save yours! And you both are probably the ones who contribute the most to our battle tactics! Don't they know that?!" Anakin exclaimed, the first time he had talked ever since Rex started recounting the events.

Rex was slightly touched that his general thought that, but he needed to get Anakin to _understand_ why they said all of that.

"Respectfully sir, they don't. And all of this is normal for us actually. Like the commander and I said before; the gala went exactly as we expected it to. The only people to consistently interact with the with us clone are the Jedi, since you fight alongside us. Everyone else thinks we're just...things. Unthinking droids."

Anakin's back slumped in defeat at hearing how Rex talked about other people's opinions of the soldiers who fought for the Republic. He hadn't known that this point of view existed because he never experienced it for himself. Ever since the first clones were shipped out from Kamino and he became a war leader, the clones had embedded themselves into his life. They were his friends, and he knew almost everything about them as they did him, how intelligent they were, giving better advice than he could even give to his own self. They were each unique, having their own names, their own opinions, and hearing about the people around him thinking that clones were just nothing, was _heartbreaking_.

Rex still wasn't done, having only finished half of his explanation, and so, he went on.

"One of them even..." the captain sighed, coughed awkwardly, and turned his gaze away from the floor, his cheeks tinting red in a blush. "One of them quite forcefully requested I... was to...s-service him. He had said that I was just a clone, that it was my duty to do what the people around me wanted, telling me that I didn't feel anything, both physically and emotionally. Ahsoka saved me before he could say any more."

He then looked to the person beside him, and her eyes glanced towards him, both of them holding eye contact and he gave a brief nod in thanks. Her head turned back to staring outside the window, and his arm lifted to his opposite shoulder, giving Ahsoka's staying hand a pat.

Anakin leaped out of his seat as he fumed in fury, pacing in the space between. He opened his mouth to start a rant, and for once, he realized that he was speechless, leaving him to take deep breaths and slowly sit back on his chair, looking at the floor in loss. It wouldn't do any good for him to start shouting if the two people in front of him were the only ones who heard it and already knew what he was going to complain about. He then realized he left them hanging, looking like he was going to give the captain an answer but leaving it in silence. To let this topic drag on through time was cruel to Rex, and he didn't want to extend it any longer.

"I'm sorry, Rex. I didn't know," Anakin whispered, his hands clenching around each other, "I thought everyone saw you and your brothers the way I did, but they don't. And for that, I apologize."

Rex's face turns something akin to a small smile. Since working with Anakin, side by side, he already knew since the beginning that the general _cared_. But given tonight's events, it was nice to be reminded that he still had friends. 

"It's alright, sir. There's nothing you could've done about it anyway, nothing would change their minds about us. I know what my brothers and I do, and we know what we fight for, and that should be enough."

Anakin's presence flared in slight anger.

"Yeah, but everyone else should know as well! Their _ungrateful asses_ don't know how mu-"

"I know sir, it's fine, really. Besides, it could've been a lot worse." 

Anakin leaned back against his chair, and he was thinking about what Rex said about ' _it could've been a lot worse_.' Like he was implying something, although he had probably meant it towards the rest of his brothers. But Anakin's mind wandered to the person beside Rex and realized that Ahsoka had been subdued during the captain's explanation. Her hand was still on Rex's shoulder in comfort and she was obviously listening, the small movements she gave of her teeth clenching and her slight facial expressions giving it away (she had been there, she had heard all of it when it was happening, and all she wanted to do was lead Rex back to the barracks, back to his brothers), but she hadn't initiated permanent eye contact towards the two men, sticking to looking outside of the lodging.

Rex looked to where Anakin was looking at Ahsoka, his attention shifting from the captain to Ahsoka, and he immediately took action, trying his best to divert attention away from her. 

"It's late, sir, let's just go to sleep and forg-"

"Snips?" Anakin interrupted Rex.

She then sighed, her eyes looking at Rex from the corner of her eyes and nodding slightly. She knew he would've stood up to the general if she'd wanted him to, at the smallest shake of her head, he would've demanded that it really _was_ too late. That the two of them had an early briefing, that they needed to head to bed, but she forged on.

Rex has told his half. Now it's her turn to explain what happened on her part. As she nodded, Rex gently pulled her hand off of his shoulder and clasped loosely around her fingers, enabling her to pull away if she wanted to. He turned his gaze to the door, not initiating eye contact with anyone as she spoke.

While Rex had started off slow, Ahsoka immediately starts talking. She was angry and resigned since she had been dealing with this every time she wasn't protected by the warm glow of the Jedi Temple and her brothers. If her master, who was practically her big brother at this point, didn't understand how she felt or brushed it off like so many others had, then he simply wasn't worth the respect she originally thought, and for that, she was scared, not wanting him to be like everyone else.

She looked straight in Anakin's eyes, her face neutral, but hardened, hoping for the best.

"Master, I'm a young woman. Who is also a Jedi and a commander in the Grand Republic Army. People don't like that."

_Flashback_

_Every time Ahsoka had tried to talk, she would be overspoken by other politicians' words, people who probably never even touched a weapon, with them trying to explain battle tactics to her. Various men had condescendingly called her **sweetheart** and **darling** , asking about broken nails and makeup and clothes._

_"What's it like to stand at the side, twiddling with your nails, and see the Jedi at work?"_

_End flashback_

Her explanation was interrupted as Anakin snarled.

"The plan was _your_ idea! We would've been sc _rewed_ if you hadn't been right in the middle of it shouting orders! You told them that right?"

She responded swiftly, her tone biting.

"And what do you think would've happened if I had? What exactly, Master, do you think I could've said at that moment, to change their minds? To alter a lifetime of thinking like that? They think I'm a _child_ and not someone who fought alongside you and the others. They think I'm a _weak little girl_ who's far too stupid to know how to put on my own clothes, let alone come up with complex battle tactics on the spot, in the middle of a firefight. There's no changing their minds."

Anakin's teeth clenched, and yet, he was still speechless. What _could_ she say? Nothing that wouldn't get her laughed at even more. Ahsoka continued with her answer.

"But it's fine. I'm used to being underestimated. I'm small, I'm still quite young, and I'm a girl. Hell, _you_ underestimated me when we first met."

Anakin cringed slightly at that. He didn't really think about his first meeting with her on Christophsis, but when he did, he would usually smile fondly at the memory. Now, he could see it was quite annoying for Ahsoka, to once again be underestimated by someone only a few years older than her.

"It's fine," Ahsoka continued, "It's not like I'll ever meet these people on the battlefield." 

"If I do though?" her voice drops under her breath, looking down, as if she was questioning herself, "I'll have them beat before they have even a _second_ to laugh at me."

It was silent before she spoke again, her voice rising in volume, but her gaze stuck on the floor. Her feet shuffled slightly, and her hand visibly tightened in Rex's grip, searching for someone to hold on to, and with that, he returned the squeeze without a second of hesitation.

As Anakin saw this, his brows furrowed in worry. Ahsoka, whilst very physically affectionate, was _not_ one to seek comfort, or burden others with her problems. But then again, Rex already revealed everything he was burdened with a rare scene of anguish, and here she was, doing the same. So he sat quietly and listened, his instincts quietly telling that the worst is yet to come.

"That wasn't even the worst part. Like I said, I'm used to it." Her breathing sped up and words tumbled out of her mouth faster and faster. "I mean I'm used to the rest as well but it's just _so much worse_ in a crowded party and everyone had had a few drinks so it was _even worse_ and I just wasn't-"

"Snips?" Anakin questioned quietly, waiting for her to continue on so he could understand what the _fuck_ unsettled his comrades so much. She was taking deep breaths, her hand tightening around Rex's hand even further until his hand was visibly red. Her eyes were widened in panic as she relived the past hours in her head.

At Rex's quiet reminder that he was there for her, showing that everything was calm and quiet and _okay_ , she relaxed. She took a deep breath and her grip loosened in Rex's hand, still not letting go. Her gaze still stayed on the floor, not feeling confident enough to look her master in the eye.

"I'm a young woman. Wearing the _only_ dress I had, at a crowded party full of _drunk_ senators who always get what they want; it was a little... _too_ handsy in there. They thought they could take what they wanted. I didn't drink anything the whole night because I was _scared_ to go to the washroom alone; it wasn't like _Rex_ could come with me. I almost overheated from the number of people inside, because I was scared to go out into the balcony all _alone_. We tried to find you at one point but..."

She hesitated. Rex's face was set in visible anger, glaring at the window, but not once did he release, tighten, or even _let go_ of her fingers, controlling himself to be her rock, to just be there for her instead of giving in to his emotions.

"But?" Anakin prompted, keeping his anger in check. He was still resentful towards the senators that treated his friends with such disrespect, the emotions showing on his face, but he was gentle towards the two of them, reigning himself in so he didn't outright explode. Ahsoka didn't deserve to meet the other side of his dark anger; the people who dared insulted both of the people sitting right in front of him.

"The group of guys you were with, telling some story about man-eating plants in that one time on Felucia. They had already mentioned that they were going to try and find me after the party for a ' _little fun_.' They had been the... _touchiest_...of all. I didn't wanna encourage them or anything so Rex and I just went to the other side of the room and waited it out for the rest of the night," her voice trailed off, ending her story.

_Flashback_

_Rex and Ahsoka were somewhere towards the end of the huge crowd that was now gathered around Anakin, him grandiosely explaining the victory that the five-oh-first won. Ahsoka's eyes slightly widened in anxiety, her fingers skittering across her lightsaber in search of solace. Rex was standing protectively behind her, his stony face and stiff back showing his obvious discomfort. Ahsoka's head nodded towards the empty corner, and they both walked away side by side, not wanting to interact with any more people for the night._

_End flashback_

She then closed her eyes and deflated in defeat, finished with her recount of the _marvelous_ party they'd just got home from. She would usually keep to herself, and if needed, talk to Obi-Wan or her vode, but she hadn't expected to spill her stress on Anakin. 

Anakin realized dimly, that she had finished her story. His hand then sparked and he looked down in surprise to see that he had clenched his metal arm into a fist so hard that he had damaged the wiring without even noticing. He waved it off; it's fine for now, but he'll need to get it checked out at some point in the next couple of days.

But overall, that did nothing to calm him down. He was experiencing a kind of powerful anger that he never once in his life had felt. Rex shivered as he felt the wave of negativity flow through him, despite not even having a _lick_ of force sensitivity.

(The next day, Anakin received a transmission off-world from Obi-Wan, asking if he's alright because he had felt _something_ strong, in waves of anger, and sure, he might just be paranoid but he wanted to check-in, just in case.)

Anakin was still quiet and stiff, clenching his hands and jaw because _how dare they_? How _dare_ people talk to his captain like that and how _dare_ they underestimate his padawan and how _dare_ they laid a hand on her? How _**dare**_ they talked to him about what a smart and capable pupil he had, _moments_ after treating her like an object to be played with? **_How dare they?_**

He forced out a breath. "Ahsoka I am... _so_ sorry. I had no idea it was that bad. Padmé had mentioned a few similar things before. but you're just a kid _and_ a _commander of an army._ I guess I thought that everyone looked at you and the others the same way _I_ did and give _you_ the respect you deserve." He bowed his head. "I'm so sorry that I was wrong about that."

His anger gave way to sadness and he looked at Ahsoka. She slowly raised her ocean eyes towards his, a small smile on her face. Each person had tears on their face from what had just happened. For Ahsoka and Rex, it's was from the build-up of _stress_ and _fear_ and _resignation_ , over the last few hours, trying their best to contain it all in only to let it out in a jumble of panic and words. For Anakin, it's the sudden _realization_ that the people he cared very deeply for were being treated so terribly, right in front of his nose, and he hadn't _noticed_ it. It had happened for _so long_ , and he didn't do _anything_ about it. None of them wiped their tears away a reminder to serve them until tomorrow.

They had all fell asleep on the couch, Anakin moving to sit beside Ahsoka and the three of them just leaning on each other for the support and comfort they never got from anyone else.

~

_Several weeks later..._

Anakin had come home to Padmé one day, and the both of them had decided to pass a legislation that would protect clone rights. He pushed his efforts to make the people see the Ahsoka in a new light, telling the people stories of her bravery and victories, and how without her, the five-oh-first wouldn't be so glorious right now, including Rex, Anakin himself, and the soldiers that fought alongside her. The next time Anakin went out with his fellow comrades, he made sure to follow every person's movement surrounding them, and he finally saw what was happening to them. This time, he defended them; _this time_ , he made _sure_ that the people knew of what his friends had done for the Republic. Every time from there and on, he would fight for them.

**Author's Note:**

> See? All the shitty stuff you got for like the last three days was because I was working on this! Not whumpy physically, but emotionally! Y'all; this is all thanks to bitsandbobsofwriting for outlining a whole fricking fic, and without their idea, I would've chosen another shitty scenario for this part of the prompt.


End file.
